How to Get Personal Training Clients | The Only 4 Strategies You Need

To get personal training clients:

• Join local Facebook groups
• Create a local network
• Build a website
• Make client incentive programs

Local Facebook groups are where neighbors discuss businesses, services, and interests. When health and fitness topics come up, share helpful advice to show your expertise. If no one asks, spark interest by posting tips and inspiring stories to motivate members to work out. As the group’s go-to fitness expert, they’ll naturally turn to you for guidance. These are potential clients who already trust you. 

Physical therapists, dietitians, and chiropractors are valuable partners to personal trainers. Since your jobs are closely related, connect with them to exchange client referrals. Their clients will likely come to you because a trusted source recommended you.

To reach even more potential clients, you need a website. Many people search online to find nearby trainers. In fact, there are 28,000 monthly searches for ‘personal trainer near me’ on Google. If your website shows up at the top, more quality leads will find you. Also, a website lets you grow by offering online training to clients beyond your local area. 

Finally, offer incentives to encourage reviews and referrals. This builds credibility and brings in new clients. Plus, referred clients tend to recommend others. This creates a ripple effect that will fill your schedule. Soon, you won’t need to search for clients – they’ll come to you. 

In this article, we give you the strategies to master these 4 ways to get personal training clients. We also provide insights on how to keep these clients coming back.

1. Join Local Facebook Groups to Build Trust and Spark Fitness Motivation

Joining local Facebook groups allows you to directly interact with potential clients and build trust. Don’t wait for others to talk about fitness in these groups – be the one to bring it up. Motivate your community to work out and choose your training by: 

• Joining the right local groups. For this strategy to work, you must be where your target audience is. For general fitness, neighborhood, health, wellness, or sports groups are great options. If you focus on seniors, women, or kids, look for local senior, women, or parenting groups in your area.
• Asking engaging questions. For example, “What’s your favorite way to stay active?” “Who’s up for a weekend workout challenge?” “Need a quick home workout? Here’s a 10-minute routine to try!”
• Sharing valuable tips and advice. Post simple no-equipment workouts, recovery techniques, the benefits of staying active, fitness myths and facts, and stretching routines. 
• Hosting free challenges or meetups. Make it fun by getting the whole community involved. Try a “7-Day Step Challenge” where members track their steps or a “Weekend Park Workout” for a group session.
• Posting testimonials or progress stories. If a friend or client has seen results with your training, share their story (with permission). Better yet, have them share the story themselves in the group. This acts as a referral, building trust with group members.
• Engaging consistently. Comment on posts where people mention fitness, health, or weight loss goals. Congratulate members who share their workout achievements. Ask for opinions on fitness-related topics to keep discussions going. 
• Creating your own fitness Facebook group. Once you’re known, invite interested people to your group. There, let them share their fitness goals or journey. Since you control the group, you can track growth, engagement, and active members. These members are your best chance at gaining new clients.
• Offering a free mini-session or consultation. If group members need more guidance, invite them to a free session in your studio, their house, or in a park. This way, they experience your coaching firsthand. 
• Promoting your personal training program. After building trust, offer a detailed, personalized plan for a price. Since they already know how well you train, they’re more likely to hire you as their personal trainer. 

Local Facebook groups are effective because of their high engagement. According to Convosight, posts in active groups receive around 32 reactions and comments. This shows strong community involvement. One Reddit user likes Facebook groups as it’s free and great for referrals. They say half of their private studio clients come from there. 

Sarah Frenza, a women’s fat loss trainer, finds her clients through Facebook groups, too. First, she builds trust with free challenges, live trainings, and fitness guides. Then, she nurtures leads through personalized interaction and addressing their needs. Her active and supportive presence keeps clients engaged while also attracting new ones.

 

However, you must be careful as some Facebook groups don’t allow self-promotion. Take time to read the rules and follow them. If you go against the rules, it will hit your reputation. Other members may see you as someone who only joins to sell rather than contribute. Group admins might also call you out publicly, damaging your credibility. Worse, you could get banned from the group.

2. Create a Local Network With Professionals Related to Personal Training

Creating a local network helps professionals share clients and grow together. You can work with dietitians, sports coaches, physical therapists, massage therapists, yoga instructors, etc… So if your client wants to improve their diet, you refer them to a dietitian partner. Likewise, the dietitian sends clients your way if they need help staying active. To create a local network of these professionals: 

• Attend local health and fitness events. Go to wellness fairs, gym openings, or networking events. There, connect with potential partners to build a strong relationship. Remember, they need to trust you to recommend your services to their clients, and vice versa. Also, if they like you, they’ll recommend you even without a deal. 
• Introduce yourself in person. Visit local dietitians, therapists, or yoga studios during non-busy hours. Discuss how you would like to work with them. Leave a business card or flyer with your services, contact info, and testimonials.
• Send a message through email or social media. Introduce yourself, say you want to partner with them, and suggest a quick chat. Make it more personalized by mentioning their work or a specific collaboration idea.
• Offer a referral exchange. If they agree to partner with you, work out a plan where you refer clients to each other. For example, if a yoga instructor’s client needs strength training, they refer them to you. And you do the same when your client wants to improve flexibility or stress relief. 
• Create a discount for shared clients. Agree on a deal where both of you give referred clients a small discount or bonus service. This makes it more appealing for clients to choose either of you.
• Host a joint promotion. Run a challenge, workshop, or social media giveaway together. Make sure these promote both services while providing value to potential clients. For example, you and a sports coach host a “Strength & Agility Challenge” for athletes. You handle strength exercises, while the coach focuses on speed and agility drills. 
• Offer a trial collaboration. If these professionals are unsure about partnering with you, do a test run. Refer a few clients to each other and see if you, your partner, and the clients are satisfied. If everything goes well, commit to a long-term partnership.
• Follow up and maintain the relationship. After your first few referrals, check in to see if it’s beneficial for both parties. Keep communication open and look for more ways to collaborate. 

As a personal trainer, you want a well-rounded approach to fitness and health for your clients. However, you can’t provide it all for them. Partnering with other professionals lets you refer the right people to clients. This ensures they get the specialized support they need in all areas. Because you genuinely care for their fitness journey, they will remain loyal to you. Plus, these partnerships give you new clients, so it’s a win-win situation. Of course, being referred by trusted experts boosts your credibility, too. 

One Redditor built their dietitian and strength coaching business with this strategy. He goes beyond partnering with PTAs, yoga studios, coaches, and sports teams. He also talks to police academies, businesses, and lunch n’ learns. For every group that he talked to, he got around 2 to 3 clients from them.

Kate Grace, a physical therapist, partnered with trainers at The Sporting Club One. This partnership created a mutually beneficial referral system. Trainers sent clients with injuries to Grace, and she referred her patients to them for safe and effective workouts. This improved client care, boosted the trainers’ reputation, and made both businesses stronger.

 

While this strategy brings in solid leads, they don’t come often. Only a few of your partners’ clients may want a personal trainer – and they may come in irregular intervals. You can’t rely on it for a steady stream of clients. This is why you should treat leads from this strategy as a bonus.

3. Build a Personal Training Website

Building a website expands your personal training client base as it puts you online. Today, most people do a quick Google search to find local trainers. These are quality leads ready to take action. An Insurance Canopy survey found that personal trainers get 19% of their clients through their website. If your website shows up, these people will likely check it out. Now, to turn these visitors into clients, make sure your website has: 

• Local SEO (search engine optimization). This makes your website show up first when locals search for a personal trainer. So use keywords like “personal trainer in [your city]” in your page titles, headings, and content. Create a Google Business Profile and link it to your site. Add your location, business hours, and client testimonials. Write blogs on fitness tips to boost visibility and authority. 
• A clean design. Your website should be simple, professional, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly. This keeps visitors engaged instead of clicking away. Use a website builder like Snapps.ai to ensure these features and fast loading speeds.
• Clear services and pricing. From the get-go, let visitors know exactly what type of training you offer. Is it 1-on-1, group sessions, home training, or specialized programs for women or weight loss? You must also be transparent about your pricing, whether it’s hourly, per session, or part of a package.
• Positive reviews and testimonials. These are virtual referrals. It shows potential clients that your training is effective. According to Qualtrics, 93% of people check online reviews before deciding who to hire. So always ask your previous clients to leave a good word for you online.
• Professional photos and videos. Show high-quality images of your training sessions, your studio, and before-and-after comparisons. Add a video to introduce yourself, showcase your training, or explain your approach. 
• Easy contact and booking. Include a contact form, phone number, live chat, and an option for clients to book sessions online. Use buttons like “Schedule A Fitness Assessment” or “Start Your Training Today” to encourage action. 
• Your credentials and experience. Your “About Me” page is crucial for building trust and credibility. Visitors often check it to learn more about you. Keep it personal – share your story, certifications, specializations, and experience.
• Free resources. This includes workout guides, mini training sessions, meal plans, or fitness tips. When people sign up, you collect their contact details. Later, offer them your paid training through email. This also gives them a preview of your coaching style before committing. 

Once your website is set up, it keeps bringing in leads 24/7. You’ll get new personal training clients with less ongoing effort. Plus, it opens doors for business growth. People outside your area may find you, and if they’re impressed, they may want to train with you. For this, you can offer online sessions. Reaching clients nationwide builds your brand and lets you to help even more people. 

A Redditor shared that their website ranks #1 in local searches, bringing in a steady stream of leads. Instead of just self-promotion, they provide free, helpful content. They also invest $200 in ads, which drives traffic to their site and brings in one new lead per month. With this, they generate $2,500 in monthly income, and it’s still growing.

Tyrone Brennand started off by offering personal training in Chelsea, London. However, thanks to his website, he became a global trainer. Using just WordPress, he built an Online Workout Hub. Here, his subscribers get new workout videos every week. His site also showed his brand, shared testimonials, and reached people beyond London. This brought in even more clients than he expected. Now, he’s a public figure who has helped thousands of people, including celebrities like Nathalie Emmanuel and Lottie Moss.

4. Make Personal Training Client Incentive Programs

Making client incentive programs quickly spreads your name. Your clients bring in more business by recommending you to their friends and family. This works well since 88% trust recommendations more than any other advertisement. Insurance Canopy reports that 84% of their personal trainers get clients from referrals. To make these incentive programs, you must: 

• Choose a reward for referrals. The discount-based program gives the client 20% off for every successful referral. Or, you can give them one completely free session. Tiered referral systems give bigger rewards as clients refer more people. You can also let clients earn points for each referral. When they earn enough, they redeem a reward like a gift card for a protein smoothie bar. 
• Create a simple referral system. To encourage participation, make it easy for clients to refer others. Provide a unique referral code, a digital form, or a simple “mention my name” system.
• Promote the program. Announce it to your clients, on your website, social media, and emails. You need to get the word out to as many clients as possible. 
• Remind clients about the program. Even happy clients forget to refer. Gently remind them through emails, social media, or casual conversations after sessions. 
• Track referrals and show appreciation. Keep a record of who referred who and provide the reward right away. Don’t forget to thank referrers, whether in person, in a message, or in a shoutout. This builds loyalty and encourages more referrals. 

Your incentive program shouldn’t be all about actual referrals. Use it to encourage clients to leave positive online reviews, too. Remember, online is where you’ll reach a lot of potential clients outside your circle. A Reddit user offers a unique program – the friend/partner workout discount. Both the client and their friend pay less while having more fun working out together. The Redditor earns more since they’re training two people, even with the lower price. They say that it’s worked well in getting even more clients to their doorstep.

Jeff Payne from Sorta Healthy Trainer Education highly recommends incentive programs. He realized that most people don’t think about referring to their trainer, even if they’re very happy with them. That’s why you need to give them a good reason to do it. Jeff also says it’s crucial to offer incentives for reviews on your Facebook and Google pages. Many people have sought him out because of these reviews. This strategy earns him an extra $10,000 in revenue. 

This is another way to get extra leads for your personal training business. However, you can’t rely on it alone to bring in regular clients.

How Do Personal Trainers Keep Clients?

• Building strong relationships. Engage with clients beyond just workouts. Ask about their lives, goals, and well-being. Share useful fitness, nutrition, and wellness advice to help them beyond exercise. Show that you care about their progress and concerns. When clients feel valued and supported, it leads to long-term loyalty and retention. 
• Providing consistent results. Customize programs to each client’s fitness level, goals, and preferences. Then, track and record their progress, such as strength, weight, and endurance. Don’t forget to acknowledge milestones and achievements so they see the results. 
• Keeping workouts fun and challenging. Lack of motivation and boredom are big reasons why people stop working out. So you must change up the routine to keep things fresh. Incorporate games, challenges, or outdoor activities. Use positive reinforcement and encouragement to keep clients motivated.
• Creating a comfortable environment. People tend to stay in places they feel safest. A training space where no one feels pressured or intimidated is crucial. Always respect the client’s physical and emotional limits during training. 
• Offering flexibility and convenience. Another reason why people stop working out is because of their busy schedules. Work around that by accommodating varied session times. Or, provide online or virtual training for those who really can’t attend in person.
• Setting long-term goals. Since your training is short- and long-term, clients will stick with you for a while to achieve those goals. However, you must also be the kind of trainer that holds them accountable. Track their attendance and provide reminders to stay on schedule.
• Creating a sense of community. A strong community greatly increases loyalty. For this, organize group training sessions or challenges to build camaraderie. Do social meet-ups or charity events that clients can participate in.
• Following up after sessions. Ask clients for feedback to improve their experience and address any concerns. If they see you’re proactive in addressing concerns, they will become more loyal to you.

What Are the Best Website Builders for Coaching Businesses?

The best website builders for coaching businesses are:

• Snapps.ai. Snapps.ai is great as it already comes with a domain, hosting, and fast loading speeds. It has fitness, landing page, and basic funnel templates that you can customize to your brand. But it’s more than just a website builder. Snapps.ai offers lead generation tools, such as simple forms to capture leads, SEO features to let locals find your site, and marketing tools to convert them into clients. Here are sample templates from Snapps.ai:

• Wix. If you want a simple website that provides all your information, Wix is a great choice. It’s super user-friendly – you can build and manage your site without any technical skills. It also offers plenty of templates with drag-and-drop customization. Finally, Wix has built-in SEO tools to help improve your site’s visibility on search engines. Here are sample templates from Wix:

• WordPress. WordPress offers complete control over your site’s design and functionality. You get a wide range of themes and plugins. For example, install plugins like Elementor to create custom layouts or Yoast SEO to optimize your site for search engines. However, it requires more setup and a steeper learning curve than other platforms. Here are sample templates from WordPress:

• Squarespace. If you value aesthetics, Squarespace highlights your brand with high-quality visuals. Choose from beautiful templates that are easy to customize with drag-and-drop editing. It has built-in designs to showcase client testimonials, workout galleries, and class schedules. Of course, there are also SEO and analytics tools to attract and track local clients. Here are sample templates from Squarespace: